"The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization."— Frank Lloyd Wright

Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks, a private nonprofit organization has seen and saved his share of historic buildings throughout his career. Davis worked at the statewide nonprofit organization 18 years before leaving in 2002 to oversee the Galveston (Texas) Historical Foundation. He returned in 2006 to lead the organization.

In the early 1960s, the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana was founded by civic leaders concerned over the loss of notable Indianapolis landmarks. Some buildings just couldn't be saved despite public outcry.

We asked Davis to give us his "five buildings I wish Indianapolis could have saved."

Here are his picks:

The English Hotel and Opera House was located on the Northwest quadrant of Monument Circle.(Photo: file)

English Opera Block

Davis: "Probably in everyone's list at No. 1 or No. 2. The Circle has never been the same."

• History: The English Hotel and Opera House was located on the Northwest quadrant of Monument Circle. Open in 1880, the opera house hosted entertainers such as Sarah Bernhardt, the Barrymores and Helen Hayes. The hotel was completed in 1896. • Demolition: Both the hotel and the opera house were demolished in 1948 and a modern designed J.C. Penney department store was built in its place.

Buy Photo

Hume-Mansur Building located at 15-31 E. Ohio St. boasted of three floors dedicated to the most prominent Indianapolis physicians.(Photo: Joe Young)

Hume-Mansur Building

Davis: "This was a great Commercial-Neoclassical destination for the city. Sacrificed in 1980 to make way for what is now Chase Bank Tower."

• History: From the time it was built in 1911 until was closed in 1974, the Hume-Mansur building at 23 E. Ohio had a major influence on life in Indianapolis. It was once the largest office building in Indianapolis and boasted three floors for physicians' offices. • Demolition: Met with the wrecking ball in 1980.

Old Marion County courthouse in 1925. File photo for 20's decade.(Photo: file)

Marion County Courthouse

Davis: "Another obvious pick, usually tied with English for most lamentable loss. Over-the-top Second Empire that was structurally sound but dirty and out of style when demolished in early '60s."

• History: The courthouse designed by Isaac Hodgson was built in 1876. The courthouse occupied the block between Delaware and Alabama streets and faced East Washington Street. It was a French Second Empire building of brick and limestone. • Demolition: Razed in June 1962 as it was too overcrowded and considered ugly by some. It was replaced by the new City-County Building on the same block but facing Market Street. Eight stone ladies were brought down from their perches atop the building and were auctioned off for a grand total of $2,150.

North Central Christian University at College Avenue and Thirteenth Street .(Photo: File)

First campus of North Western Christian University (College Avenue)

Davis: "Not a shred is left, but this was a fine mid-19th-century Gothic building designed by William Tinsley much in the style of Renwick's Smithsonian."

• History: In 1855, classes began at North Western Christian University in the area of today's 13th Street and College Avenue. In 1875, the university, renamed for Ovid Butler moved to a 25-acre campus in Irvington.• Demolition: The building was later the home of the Indianapolis Orphan Asylum and was demolished in 1910.

Davis: "And, for some variety, the Northside Tee Pee. I don't recall the Southside Tee Pee, but the one at Fall Creek and 38th was a fine example of whimsical (probably politically incorrect today) roadside architecture. Lost to parking spaces in the 1980s right at the point when that genre was gaining respectability."

• History: The distinctively designed restaurant was built in 1939 replacing the Wigwam built seven years earlier by A.R. McComb. It was especially popular with teens during the 1950s and 1960s.• Demolition: Demolition work on the Tee Pee drive-in restaurant started on June 21, 1988. Historic preservationists had led a futile battle to keep the 48-year-old building on the southeast corner of the State Fairgrounds from being torn down.